Heretofore cross-country skiing and downhill skiing have been treated as sporting activities not usually practiced during a single ski outing. The primary reason for this is because downhill ski bindings serve to bind both the toe and the heel of a ski boot to a ski, while-cross-country ski bindings secure only the toe portion of a ski boot to a ski (since cross-country ski boots are equipped with a flexible sole in order that long leg strides accompanied by bending of the sole of a cross-country ski boot and elevation of the heel of a cross-country ski boot may be carried out).
Inasmuch as a greater percentage of skiers are now becoming interested in cross-country skiing as well as downhill skiing, a need exists for new forms of skiing equipment which will allow a skier to enjoy both downhill and cross-country skiing during the same outing. Although such dual purpose skiing equipment undoubtedly will include dual purpose skis which will be somewhat wider than cross-country skis and ski boots which may be selectively used in both the downhill and cross-country skiing modes, development of dual purpose skis and boots does not offer as great a problem as the development of dual purpose ski bindings.
Accordingly, a need exists for ski bindings which may be alternately used for downhill and cross-country skiing and with the conversion from cross-country and downhill skiing modes being readily accomplished without the use of tools and in a very short time.
Examples of various different ski bindings including some general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,022,491, 4,088,342, 4,094,529, 4,103,930 and 4,128,157.